High tide caused a flooded street in HCM City’s Bình Chánh District. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

HCM CITY — The HCM City Steering Committee for Civil Defense - Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, and Search and Rescue has directed local authorities and relevant departments and agencies to be ready to take measures to combat the arrival of the super typhoon Noru and rising tides which is expected to cause flooding.

Noru is one of the strongest storms in the last 20 years and the fourth storm to hit the East Sea this year.

The typhoon entered the East Sea early Monday morning and is forecast to hit Việt Nam's central provinces early on Wednesday morning.

It will keep moving west-northwest at a speed of 20-25 km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

All ships, aquaculture areas and activities in the area are at high risk of being impacted by strong winds, high waves and flooding.

Due to the storm, from September 26, waters in the northern part of the East Sea will be extremely rough with 8-10m waves. In addition, torrential rains of 150-300mm are forecast in the central region and Central Highlands during September 27-28. As a result, level 3 and 4 national disaster risks have been issued to regional authorities.

According to the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station, the tidal level at Phú An Station on the Sài Gòn River is forecast to reach its peak in the coming days, approximately level 3 at 1.6m.

The centre recorded a water level at Phú An Station of 1.58m in the morning, 1.57m in the evening on September 27, 1.59m in the morning and 1.6m in the evening on September 28.

Authorities in all districts and Thủ Đức city and relevant departments and agencies have been asked to be ready for prevention and control measures to cope with floods caused by heavy rain, rising tides and water discharge.

They must quickly communicate to the public the updates, forecasts and warnings of the tides to proactively take measures to prevent and avoid the negative impact.

They have to conduct regular inspections of embankments, sluice gates and canals at sites that regularly flood because of rains and high tides, to avoid adverse impact on production activities and people's lives.

Traffic police and youth volunteer forces have been asked to regulate traffic in high-risk flood areas, if necessary.

Localities have been asked to get ready to implement plans to ensure safety for people and ships operating on rivers, at sea and seaports, coordinate forces in rescue activities and have preventive measures in place for thunderstorms, tornadoes, strong winds and falling trees. — VNS